Sometimes my sit spot is empty, just me and the canal. Sometimes it’s busy, with all kinds of birds. Sometimes it’s noisy, filled with all sorts of conversations coming from different people.

But there are also those I don’t notice — the ones who are at the sit spot only in imagination, or watching from their bedroom windows, or inside those little boats that pass along the canal, or even the tiny creatures invisible to a quick glance at the water, the ground, or the air.

I tried to pay attention to some of them, and here’s what I noticed:

• Residents from Lodge, Maynard, Chapman, Chesney, France, Varey, and Selicourt Houses look out at the lake from their windows, and even if they can’t see it, they can at least hear the sound of the birds.
• Seagulls show up from time to time, flying in groups and quickly stealing food from other animals.
• There’s a goose with a small limp in its left leg that eats lying down on the grass near the dock and rushes to the water whenever someone throws bread into the canal.
• I can see and hear friends, families, and couples chatting and laughing in Victoria Park. Even though the park is separated from me by the Regent’s Canal, I can still see them sitting on the high benches.
• I also once saw a man shouting at a child and her mother. They ignored him, and after a while, he walked away and left them in peace.

But returning to the topic about my presence here, I did not know how much it could impact the environment.

After checking the Carbon Footprint calculator, I was honestly shocked to see how high my travel emissions were. My trip to Queen Mary added up to 3.43 tonnes of CO₂e, which is a lot more than I expected for just one person flying. It really made me think about how much impact something like an international flight can have and how hard it is to offset that just through small daily actions.

Something I have been thinking a lot about is how people are always told to buy less or consume less, but we rarely see the same kind of pressure on companies to produce less. It feels like no matter how much one person tries, the effect is small unless a community works together. Production, transport, and even food waste all happen on such a big scale that real change has to come from collective effort.

Looking at the data from the London government, I was actually surprised by how much progress the city has made. London’s total emissions in 2021 were around 80 million tonnes of CO₂e, which is 24% lower than in 2001 even though the population grew by about 1.4 million people. That means emissions per person dropped from 13.9 to 8.98 tonnes. The biggest drop was around 2008 and 2009 during the financial crisis, when people were forced to spend less, but even after that, emissions kept going down thanks to things like cleaner electricity and better public transport.

What I found really interesting is that London has the lowest per capita transport emissions in the UK, mostly because people use public transport so much, but at the same time, it has some of the highest aviation emissions. It makes sense because it’s such a global city, but it also shows how much of an impact travel has compared to daily life choices. Food-wise, Londoners spend less on meat compared to other regions, which helps reduce emissions too, but there’s still a lot of food waste happening, especially in big cities and universities.

Back in Wellesley, I used to notice how much food was wasted in the dining halls, and it really bothered me. I grew up being taught not to waste food and to value every grain of rice, so seeing so much go to waste felt wrong. Here in London, I’ve noticed that even though people are more conscious about what they eat, students still rely a lot on meal deals or delivery food because it’s easier and cheaper. For international students like me, it’s also hard to buy cooking basics like oil or sauces in big quantities since we’re not staying for long, and that ends up creating more waste too.

If I could start a project to help offset my carbon footprint here, I would create a shared kitchen essentials program for students. The idea is simple: the university could set up a space where students can share cooking basics like oil, spices, and sauces instead of everyone buying their own. A student worker could help keep it organized and make sure everyone is included. It would save money, reduce waste, and make cooking feel more like a community activity instead of something everyone does alone.

I really believe small projects like this can make a difference. They might not completely erase the emissions from flying, but they help build habits that actually last. It also helps people connect more and work together toward change, which is what really makes a long-term impact.